Tales from the Folly

Reviewed on 30th May 2021

The first tale is short and is a tie-in for the 2012 Olympics. It doesn’t seem a huge contribution to the series but is a welcome refresher of the style and a nice trip into the world.

The second tale is a fantastical twist on everyday policing, comfortable and reassuring in its telling.

Story number three is a jolly tale about a bookshop, although I suspect I was a bit too tired for reading it properly. I’m not a huge fan of the ebook format and having to read on my screen so possibly that had an effect too.

Number four is the tale of a chance encounter at a motorway services. It’s an amusing little investigation that was a fun diversion to read.

Entry the fifth is a story to tie-in with the underground Mail Rail, and fits neatly in to several of the overarching themes of the series.

The sixth story is set in the British Library, and is a fun little exploratory adventure.

After this we move on to stories from the points of view of other characters, and the first of these is a delightful little horror story of a drug dealer who has an encounter near a river.

Then we get a tale from Abigail’s point of view. This is my favourite yet - it’s Christmas focussed, exposits more about the character, and contains a perfect amount of mystery and intrigue.

The next story is about Vanessa Sommer, from the Germany-set spin-off novella, heading home for Christmas. It’s a great little “what if” tale that explores how someone might react to learning about magic in adulthood.

The final of the short stories proper revisits some guest characters I barely remember from earlier in the series, and continues their adventures in this world.

The rest of the book is made up of ‘moments’, pretty much just individual stand-alone scenes of character background, that help to paint the world that little bit richer.